Swiftie Haters and Worldwide TikTokification

gen z's favorite...flour?

Good morning! Did you know one of the hottest brands among Gen Z is a 70-year-old flour brand and that the TikTokification of Spotify is officially underway? Today we’re talking about that and more…

YOUTUBE MADE EMMA CHAMBERLAIN A STAR. NOW SHE’S LEAVING IT BEHIND., nyt
How much Emma is too much Emma? The limit does not exist. This fantastic interview — timed ahead of the relaunch of her “Anything Goes” podcast, now exclusive to Spotify — gets into the complexities of virality and fame.

“I’m terrified because I am human and I’m not perfect and who knows what people could find about me. Somebody could make up a lie about me tomorrow and ruin my life. I feel powerless about my own identity at times, because I feel like it’s in the control of the public."

SPOTIFY WILL LAUNCH A TIKTOK-ESQUE, VERTICALLY SWIPED FEED, bloomberg
Spotify's TikTokification continues as the music app works to attract more Gen Z listeners; currently, one in three of its users is between the ages of 18 and 24, and CEO Daniel Ek has said they “could be doing better” at appealing to the younger generation. Emma’s pod should certainly help there.

TIKTOK WANTS LONGER VIDEOS FOR ITS NEW CREATOR FUND, theverge
Last week’s rumors about a revised creator fund have been confirmed: To be eligible for the program — which, for now, is invite-only — users will need to be over 18, hit follower and video views benchmarks, and, most interestingly, make “high-quality, original videos that are longer than one minute.”

TIKTOK LOVES GEN Z’S TRUE CONFESSIONS. COLLEGES AND EMPLOYERS, NOT SO MUCH., wapo
A girl was denied a spot on a college sports team because of her TikTok, which coaches deemed “too negative.” She used the app as a diary of sorts and often talked about mental health to her 4,000 followers. (Related: There have been so many articles about the young tech workers going viral talking about layoffs; I’m sure it’s really satisfying to go viral after losing your job, but I can’t be the only one thinking it might impact their employability?)

WHY A 70-YEAR-OLD FLOUR BRAND IS SUDDENLY SURGING IN POPULARITY AMONG GEN Z, insider
One of the fastest-growing brands among Gen Z isn't an adaptogenic beverage or a new face cream: Maseca, a corn flour that got its start in rural Mexico in the late 1940s, ranked fourth on Numerator's latest list of the top Gen Z brands; on TikTok, #maseca has more than 100 million views.

SHE BUILT A FOLLOWING AS TAYLOR SWIFT’S DOPPELGÄNGER. THEN THE SWIFTIES CAME AFTER HER, rollingstone
Ashley Leechin has built a platform of 1.1 million followers — and despite the hate she gets online, she says she's just another stan.

One last thought:

local gregg araki character @ryndx_

Unmuting myself to say “thank you!”after a 1.5 hour meeting I didn’t contribute anything to

P.S. I’m trying something a little different with the intro this week, as you may have noticed. If you miss the quick links, lmk — but my thinking is that so often, the stories deserved more than a brief one-liner, and I’d rather dig into everything a little bit deeper.